Marcellus's thread was clearly a lot of attention whoring, but when it comes down to it, he has a point. The word "true fan" has become a catch-all for anyone who doesn't agree with a person on here about XXX player or XXX move that the Chiefs have made.

The issue I have with it is that it's increasingly become a straw man insult that doesn't even make sense. Discussion around here lately reminds me of discussions in D.C. where every issue has to be black and white and anyone who doesn't agree with you is an idiot. The reality is that there are opinions all over the spectrum and that nothing is ever black and white. I'd think there are at least five different categories of Chiefs fans these days:

1 - True "homers" who will cheer for the team and applaud every move they make unconditionally. These types almost don't even exist on ChiefsPlanet (though people like to act like they do). These are only a small portion of the Chiefs fanbase, and they look like this.

2 - Optimists who will always cheer for the Chiefs, but have a sense of realism about it. They probably cheered Cassel for the first few years, but reluctantly joined the SOC bandwagon last year when it was clear that there was just no hope in saving the team under Cassel.

3 - Fans who try to keep a balanced approach. They don't get too excited about drafting a RT at #1 or trading for Alex Smith, but they believe that it's likely the team will at least be improved this year if not dramatically so. Their approach is a "wait and see" reaction, though they'll be quick to criticize if things don't work out.

4 - Pessimists who are skeptical that the Chiefs are going to be competitive any time soon, but who do try and give the team some benefit of the doubt under the new leadership. They're probably not happy about Alex Smith being our QB, but are grudgingly willing to see what he can do.

5 - Total naysayers who have had it with the team for the past 40 years and will refuse to be optimistic until the Chiefs find some real success (playoff wins at a minimum, and Super Bowl contention ideally). They believe that the front office should be constantly scrutinized given that their predecessors were given a long leash and screwed it all up.

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to see where people would put themselves on the spectrum. It seems like most threads these days are battles between 5's and 1's, but I'd bet that those types are actually pretty rare around here. My dream would be that we can one day have discussions that are dominated by 2's, 3's, and 4's, but who knows if that can ever happen until the Chiefs start showing success.

I consider myself a perfectly realistic Cardinals fan. I'd be viewed as a Chiefs naysayer, but when they exhibit the ineptitude consistent with one of the worst franchises in professional sports, what benefit of the doubt have they earned?

I see myself as balanced. I just have a particular opinion on the best way to do things, and all-to-often the franchise goes in a completely different direction. When I like something they do, I'm not shy about saying that. It just doesn't happen as often as I'd like.

True fans to me are people who would have been big fans of Martyocre in the 90's, think "King Carl" shit gold, and who for some reason today still believe in that decade's philosophy at Arrowhead, which is basically outmoded in today's NFL. (And, hell, it was outmoded back then.) We're in a league where speed kills and where the rules are so ridiculously slanted towards the passing game that it's become far more beneficial to be great on offense and then as competitive as possible on defense, rather than vice versa. Zero-point-three yards and a cloud of dust ain't where it's at, folks, not anymore. Lines are always important, but skill position players win games and the quarterback in particular is the most important single position in all of sports. You don't want to "play not to lose". You don't want a QB who you hope can be "good enough". Strive for greatness there. Don't limit yourselves to Damon Huards and Matt Cassels and Alex Smiths. And for god's sake, we aren't looking to relive the "glory years" of the 90s. We want something more. So put away the zubaz, cut off that mullet and join us in the 21st century.

So I guess I what I'm saying is that, to me, true fans are people that are stuck in the past. It's not so much about what they're saying, but why they're saying it. I'll even throw in the word 'brainwashed' there from time to time, because they seem so satisfied with a philosophy that produced pretty steady failure for the better part of 20 years. It's like stockholm syndrome.

I'm a 4. Not because I want to be but I've been a Chiefs/Royals fan my whole life and they've never done anything so it's hard to imagine that dynamic truly changing. I was alive when the Royals won but I wasn't old enough to get anything from it.

All I've known is the pure hellish torture of perpetual losing with no hope.

I guess my point of this thread is that the type of people you describe in that thread largely don't exist on ChiefsPlanet.

Not sure how I feel about this statement... there are a lot of fans who talk about simply making the playoffs at 9-7 or 10-6 like it's some significant accomplishment, those who don't seem to understand that the upside to finding the next great QB is worth possibly drafting a couple of turds, and those who talk about needing to protect the QB like it's a one way street and a QB can't possibly be successful without a great line (as opposed to a QB making his O-Line look better than they really are).

However, like you said in the OP, it's become cliché, and not everyone who's giving Alex Smith a chance necessarily agrees with every retread move they've ever made and not everyone who falls into group 2 or even 3 is a true fan, by definition.

I was tempted to declare myself balanced, but I think I'm probably an optimist.

I AM an optimist. I don't blame Reid and Dorsey for the failings of Jack Steadman, Jim Schaaf, Carl Peterson, Scott *****, Frank Gansz, Herm, Gunther, Romeo, or Todd Haley. With each new regime comes new hope, and each new regime deserves the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise. When a single game has not been played yet, it's WAY too early for anyone to pass judgment.

I used to be a relentless #1 homer and true fan. That all came to an end one night in Arrowhead in the Denver playoff game. The one that Rich Gannon watched from the sidelines, prior to moving to Oakland and becoming the league MVP. Since then I've bounced between 3 and 4, and was tilting into "5" this past season. Now firmly at 4. Reid/Dorsey don't seem all that savvy to me so far.